GoG 47: The Child's Hugs

Almost there. 3 more posts for the night, and I will be caught up!!!! Rock on!!!! Y'all have a lot of posts to catch up on! Better get readin'! ;)

#47: More touches from the little'uns :)

Wednesday at after school, Andrea (little hispanic girl who likes to pretend to run her boogers all over me) saw me and ran up to me .... "Miss Mical! Miss Mical!" And she gave me several huge hugs!

And my day was complete. :)

GoG 46: The Bible Study

So I have this really amazing guy in my youth group. His name is Andy .... and I am completely proud of him. He is just awesome! He loves the Lord .... he is growing in the Lord (like crazy, yo!!!) .... he is a leader .... he makes good decisions .... he's sensitive to the needs of others .... he's humble .... hilarious .... just an all-around good kid .... but more than just good 'cause Jesus is the Lord of his life - genuinely ... and it shows. :) .... I'm just a little proud to call him one of "my kids" ... if you couldn't tell. ;)

He started a sr. high Bible study this past Tuesday night. He led it and everything. Golly, I was proud! I AM proud. .... It went really well. We read in Joshua ... and we got to talking (even some of the kids who don't usually talk got goin'!) about what God has been teaching us and how it has changed our lives. Good stuff. And it was all Andy! .... Well, it was all God ... but God used Andy to lead and listen and just do a really good job with it. I think Andy was pleased with it too. I know I was!

But gosh .... it was just amazing to watch one of my kids do something so great ... for Jesus! It was just another glimpse of God's grace. Not only does He allow me to work with amazing kids ('cause my other kids are great too!) ... but He allows me the privilege of watching them grow up in Him ... maybe even HELP them grow up in Him. ...... Amazingness. Awesomeness. And a bunch of other "ness" words. :)

GoG 45: The Graceful Mical ... or not

Well, if you've been keeping up with my blog, you know that I like to tell stories about myself. By that, I mean ... I like to tell y'all about my spazziness, my blondeness, my well .... Micalness. :D

Monday night, I went to Red Robin with Maggie and Hannah. And while I was there ... within about 5 minutes of each other .... I practically threw the cardboard stand across the table and I spilled a full glass of water all over the table. .... It was one of those "you had to be there" moments ....

First, I knocked the cardboard stand off the table .... but it nearly flew across the room. Who knows what I was doing?

Then, I was reaching across the table to help Hannah move her burger basket ..... and I knock over my water .... what the heck? Ha ha! .... Again, you had to be there. But we all had a good laugh about it.

I am just so graceful .... uh ... yeah right. And my lack of gracefulness is grace if you really get down to it. Ha! Nice ....

GoG 44: The V-Day Party

Last Sunday, Calvary had its 4th annual Parents Night Out/Kids Valentine's Day Party. I've been organizing it and leading it for the past 3 years, and it's always a good time. We keep the kids in the sanctuary playing games, running around like crazy people, listening to music, doing crafty stuff, and we feed 'em dinner. All the while, the parents go out for a night on the town.

My GoG for Sunday was all of the help I received with the event. I made it a youth group service project ... I asked all of my kids to come help with the event. .... They didn't have to come ... but they did. Just about everyone was there. It was great to see my kids there serving the church by loving on the kids. And it was fun to laugh with them too ... we laughed quite a bit, which is always good.

And afterwards, several parents (and nearly all of the youth) stayed to help tear tape and decorations off the walls, put the chairs back in order, do the dishes, vacuum the floors, and make sure the kids didn't kill each other in the clean-up process. .... It was such a blessing to have so much help .... and just another hint of God's great grace in my life. :)

GoG 43: The Lack of Crying

I've said it over and over on this goofy blog ... and in everyday life ... Emily is my very best friend in the whole world. .... When Emily and Barry first got engaged, I realized that one day she'd be leaving me to go live with King Barry in Nashville. ... Well, last Saturday, that day finally came. I could've sworn I was gonna be a royal mess the entire day of the wedding. But surprisingly, not one tear fell. I had tears gather behind my eyes during the slide show ... maybe one tear gather during the vows ... and I nearly lost it during one point in my maid of honor speech ..... but no. tears. fell. Amazingness.

Somehow, I was able to keep it together the entire day. I still haven't cried ... and she's been married for a week. Craziness. .... But my lack of crying is my GoG for that day (and really now too). It's grace because not only am I not a royal mess ... but my heart is not aching too much either. God is really pouring on the grace, helping me get through this transition. Thank you, Lord!

GoG 42: The Same Way

At Barry and Emily's rehearsal dinner, I had the huge honor of sitting at their table. The whole way to Chili's I kept thinking, "Gosh, I hope I get to sit by Em." And when I arrived ... shortly after Barry and Em ... Emily yelled for me ... "Mical!" And she pointed to the seat next to her with a smile. And Barry yelled at Micah (his best man) in the same way. ... Oh, it was such a joy to sit with them. Em was leaving me the next day, so I wanted to spend every minute with her ... and I just wanted to be close to her. And come to find out ... she felt the same way. :)

Now, that's grace. :)

GoG 41: The Child's Touch

I got to Brookside Church last Thursday, the 11th .... and after dropping off the food, Hannah Crane (little Hannah ... 7 years old ... from after school) grabbed my hand and just held on tight. She followed me to my car and everything.

There is something about a child's touch. Many people know me as "the girl who doesn't like to be touched." This is true to some extent ... but I've gotten a lot better. I've even grown to really enjoy hugs from most people ... especially friends. But for a long time, I've loved the touch of little kids. Their touches are so pure and empowering and dear to me.

And when they run and give you a hug or grab your hand and hold on for dear life .... sometimes, if they just say your name .... at least for me, it's like a little piece of heaven. Or ... grace. :)

GoG 40.5: The Friend Date

My friend, Ben, and I get together about once a month for something we like to call "friend dates." We usually meet at the Brownsburg Starbucks around 7:30pm .... and we talk for 2 or 3 hours ... sometimes more .... hardly ever less. It is a really sweet time. ... Lawana posted on one of my blog posts recently and told me that God has blessed me with some really special friendships. She is so right. Ben Nilsen is one of those friends I'm not sure I could live without. He has been one of my greatest encouragers, prayer warriors, and dearest friends for a few years now. Ben, by himself, is God's grace in action in my life .... but something he said at our friend date will probably stick with me forever 'cause it meant so much to me.

It was one simple sentence.

"I hope you can come because, yes, I want you to be there, but I also think you'll help calm me down all that day."

We were talking about me driving to Key West for his wedding. And he not only said he'd love for me to be there .... but he also said I could help him calm down (wedding jitters). .... You wouldn't think that comment would mean all that much ... just 'cause it's not anything huge. But boy, did it. It told me that he really appreciates my friendship ... that I'm the kind of friend that he feels really comfortable around ... that he can share his life and joys and struggles with me ... that I'm a friend who is dear enough to him that he wants me to be there on his wedding day ... just so we can share the day together as dear friends.

Ahh ... yep. It's one of those friendships called grace. :)

GoG 40: The Hannah Text

#40 .... Hannah Baker is amazing. She sent me a text last week that made my day.

It said ...

"Mical ... I love you. Just wanted you to know I am praying for you today. Not sure why but you are on my heart. Hope everything's ok!"

And that's all. What a blessing. What grace. I don't deserve such amazing friends like Hannah Joy ... but God gave her to me anyway. :)

GoG 39: The Day With Emily :)

So ... this is lame. I am so stinkin' behind with these GoGs. Bummer, yo. ..... And this is even more lame -- in effort to catch up to today's GoG, I'm gonna post several short (very short!) GoGs. And hopefully, I won't get so far behind again. And thankfully, I've been keeping track of my GoGs. :)

#39: A day with Emily :)

The Monday before Em's wedding, I headed to Serendipity to help her decorate for the reception. Afterwards, we went to dinner ... then to Target ... and then I went to her house to watch a movie with her and Josh. Good day.

A glimpse of God's grace because I have a BBF ... and she is the most wonderful thing in the world to me. Days with her make my life complete. :)

GoG 38: The Sob

Super Bowl Sunday has never been a huge thing for me. I like football. I like the Colts. But I am just way too busy to keep up with the games. I think I saw half a game this entire season. I "watched" the Super Bowl, but I colored and dealt with "drama" for most of the evening ... so I was a tad bit distracted.

I had my youth group over to watch the Super Bowl ... and it turned into an alright evening overall, but we had some struggles. In effort to spare the details, I'll just say that I have middle schoolers in my youth group. Need I say more? ;) I love middle school. It is (somehow - Lord knows He gave me a gift!) my favorite age group. They are full of drama much of the time, but I just love 6th-8th graders. They are a ton of fun! Difficult at times ... but so fun! Well, we had a drama night at the Super Bowl party ... and I had to be ready on my feet the whole time. Never a dull moment with my kids. ;) ....

In working with youth, I have a tough job goin' for me. It is overwhelming at times ... and sometimes, there are situations that I just can't handle ... or don't know how to handle. Super Bowl Sunday turned into one of those situations. By the time I got home from taking some of the kids home, I was wiped ... even emotionally drained ... mostly because I have been going alone in this youth ministry thing for 9 months now. And youth ministry is nearly impossible to do alone. ..... I ended up talking (and crying) with my parents for almost an hour ... maybe longer ... that night when I got home. Conveying to them that "I can't do this by myself anymore." And it's true. I need help. Thankfully, my parents are amazing, and they are going to help me until we can find someone more permanent. :) .... But sobbing to my parents that night helped me realize something. Yes ... it helped me realize that I can't work in ministry by myself any longer .... but it also helped me remember that God is the one I need to be crying out to ... God is the one I need to look to for help and comfort and wisdom and the rest ... God is the one who put me in this ministry, and God is the one who is gonna help me complete this calling that He has placed on my life. ..... I've blogged before about realizing my dependence on the Lord .... or rather, remembering that I can do nothing without Him. And here He went again .... His grace again .... He needed me to know that I am helpless without Him .... He seems to do that most when my focus gets out of whack ... which is more often than I would like. ;) ... So ... He did it again. God revealed His grace by humbling me and making me recognize my need for Him once again.

GoG 37: The Clean Up

A week ago Saturday, a bunch of us girls got together for Emily's bachelorette party. Most of the bridesmaids and I took her out for a nice lunch and then some ice cream. It was a pretty fun day. But my favorite part was cleaning up the mess we made. Ha! That was my favorite part because I got to spend some, what I considered, quality time with my friend, Mags.

I think I've talked about Maggie on here at least once before ... Mags is my longest, loveliest friend ... my LLF. :) .... She has been my friend since I was 6 and she was 7 years old. We met at Calvary ... went to middle school and high school together ... and have just been the best of friends for ... wow ... it's been about 17 years. Crazy! .... Well, ever since she got married about a year and a half ago, we haven't gotten to spend as much time together as we used to. And now that she's having a baby, I'll probably see even less of her. ..... Every time I get to hang out with her these days, I think to myself, "Gosh, I'm so glad we're friends." And "Gosh, I know WHY we're friends." And "Gosh, I'm thankful for Maggie!" She's just one of those lifelong friends ... one I cherish very much. :)

That Saturday night, we got to clean up together. We didn't talk too much while we were cleaning up .... I think it was just that we got to spend some time together ... just the two of us while the others chatted on the couch. ..... I kept trying to pour the chips from the bowl back into their bag, and I kept missing and spilling 'em all over the counter .... we kept laughing at that. She is not supposed to be eating sugar while she's pregnant, and she kept stealing brownies and eating 'em ... and we kept laughing at that. We chatted about how goofy weight is 'cause it's so hard to keep off our bodies ... and she gave me all of the food that was left over so that I could take it to youth group with me the next day. I gave her the dishes while she loaded the dishwasher. I refilled the trash bag .... we cleaned up. It was as simple as that. But it was such a sweet time. Just spending time together. It was just a reminder of what a gift friendships are ... especially, long, deep friendships like my friendship with Maggie. .... God loves us so much that He gives us friends. Thank you, Lord. :)